stealing from general population

Yeah, and make it small, cheep items, and or small amounts of chy.  I thinkthat that would not only give thiefs a more set job, but in ways stimulate the economy.  would have to have some type of thing where you get mobbed by TERRA if you do it too much though.  like if you get twinktastic on it set all terra agents you walk by to attack you for a certain amount of time, and make it perminant if they don't get the idea.  maybe even have an alert roster, or apb type thing that automatically logs an APB on said charcter because the automated stealing is only avaliable in an area with a "camera".    anyway I think it could be smoothly implimented, but my spidy sense tells me that not everyone's going to agree.

I can… Cant you xee?

Quote: from Kevlar on 3:45 pm on July 21, 2004[br]
(…) There are wandering NPC's who's sole purpose is to provide targets of opertunity.
(...)
-Kevlar

That's exactly what I meant but wasn't sure about the IC/OOC barrier thing… o.0

Think about your surroundings too.  I've had past thief characters, and they made a -VERY- nice fat stack of change from these targets the Admins throw in there.

What is considered twinkish is hiding in the shadows comtinually picking the same target over and over again, as soon as the code allows you to.  Be realistic in everything you do.  

A good pickpocket will hit a target and keep moving as to not draw attention to himself.  Not stand in the same room as the person and pick them over and over again, without RP.  The code may allow you to keep reaching in his pocket but realistically once you've done it once or twice, you've exhausted your options when it comes to -where on his body- your pulling the money from.  There's no lack of targets either Red or Gold side. Any continuous picking of the same target will arouse an admin's attention and you will discover the meaning of IC consequences to IC actions.

Hey, here's a suggestion.

TALK TO THE NPC AND MUG HIM/HER!

You know. Say 'Give me your money bitch, or I'll stick ya' while waving a knife.

Say it -TO- the NPC so a GM can see it.

Then we'll respond. 90% of the corpies visiting red will buckle and fold, and you'll get yourself a bit of action and a bit of cash. No lame pickpocketing. No shadow hiding. Fun for the whole family.

And hey, you might even have one freak out and attack you. Or call TERRA. Or scream for help. Or kill himself. Or pee his/her pants. Or any of a dozen other fun and random events that even the best Kevlarcode™ can't simulate. Or was it stimulate...

*wanders off muttering*

"Give me your money and I'll slit your overies".
Hehe, so.. they've got a choice between giving their money before or after they get knifed? Or.. you'll only knife them if they give you their money.. classic ;) :P.
*coughs*

But yeah, I agree totally.. especially about the badgers :).

Ones char could also talk to them, as in.. make idle conversation, ask for the time when your char's got 4 watches staped to their arm, dodgy dealier styley.
I've had characters do that a long time ago to PCs when you didn't have these handy NPCs with all but a sign above their head reading "mug me", and I considered it rather effective and realistic.
Surely people mug this way IRL, talking face to face and gesticulating gives someone an excuse to have their hands near the target, distracted by polite banter that draws their attention away from that hand then slipping into their pocket.
It's like the classic bump into a rich looking person with stylish but impractical open overcoat outer pockets and take a dip before appologising, routine.
Nothing on the streets happens by accident.

So, both threatening and polite cover up conversational approaches seem like a good idea to create more interesting, realistic, and diverse RP.

Yay.. and stuff.

Yes. Situations that are more complex, less controled in outcome and much less safe. NPC's can give you that if there's a GM on. PC's give you that by the bushle. But back to the automated pick command…  I was thinking, would a proffesional thief really be working for SHI or doing Bruce runs to earn the bulk of their start up chy? Would an automated pick command be the equivalent of earning basic chy for a different segment of the population?

I've fallen victim to the "Oh pardon me miss!" fake fall and grab while wandering around, of all things, a gypsy run market. I wasn't rich looking, just very very jet lagged and i probably had a screaming neon sign spinning over my head that said "Hi! I'm a north american tourist. Enjoy!"
I liked that wallet.

GIVE ME YOUR OVERIES! They go good on toast.

Which is better:

Screaming woman yelling 'Hoodrat'
or
Screaming 20-somethings in a White Trash Domestic Dispute.

So hard to tell…really only one way to know. Pit them in a death match on FOX TV.